Five lines of ancient script on a shard of pottery could be the oldest example of Hebrew writing ever discovered, an archaeologist in Israel says.

The shard was found by a teenage volunteer during a dig about 20km (12 miles) south-west of Jerusalem. Experts at Hebrew University said dating showed it was written 3,000 years ago - about 1,000 years earlier than the Dead Sea Scrolls. Other scientists cautioned that further study was needed to understand it.

Preliminary investigations since the shard was found in July have deciphered some words, including judge, slave and king. The characters are written in proto-Canaanite, a precursor of the Hebrew alphabet. Lead archaeologist Yosef Garfinkel identified it as Hebrew because of a three-letter verb meaning "to do" which he said was only used in Hebrew. "That leads us to believe that this is Hebrew, and that this is the oldest Hebrew inscription that has been found," he said.

The shard and other artefacts were found at the site of Khirbet Qeiyafa, overlooking the Valley of Elah where the Bible says the Israelite David fought the Philistine giant Goliath.

Left: Map showing Jerusalem

Mr Garfinkel said the findings could shed significant light on the period of King David's reign. "The chronology and geography of Khirbet Qeiyafa create a unique meeting point between the mythology, history, historiography and archaeology of King David."

But his colleagues at Hebrew University said the Israelites were not the only ones using proto-Canaanite characters, therefore making it difficult to prove it was Hebrew and not a related tongue spoken in the area at the time.

Hebrew University archaeologist Amihai Mazar said the inscription was "very important", as it is the longest proto-Canaanite text ever found. "The differentiation between the scripts, and between the languages themselves in that period, remains unclear," he said.

Be as it may, in Israel, archaeology becomes politics, history and diplomacy--in essence it becomes a basis to justify Zionism--sometimes the armaments are just not enough to appease the roars of world opinion. Every grain of sand encroached and each so-called artifact designated as "Hebrew" or "Jewish" becomes part of the Zionist narrative. This is supplemented as well by rebuilding and reconstructing events from scripture, which brings forth the fait accompli that much closer to a Zionist reality--suddenly ancient objects are categorized as Jewish and mutate into the lexicon of global truths.

Left: Israeli police at Dome of the Rock

In the mythical tradition of the Jews, it was once the centre of their world - and the place to which they always promised themselves in exile that they would return.

Christians know it as the temple where Jesus overturned the tables of the moneychangers.

The Romans knew it as a place of Jewish rebellion and, under Titus, demolished it in 70 AD (the Common Era) after the Zealots' revolt, which also saw the siege and fall of Masada.

Many of the disciples of Jesus were Zealots, including Jesus himself. His crucifixion probably had more to do with the group's insurgency against the Romans than anything recounted in scripture. Under Roman law, crucifixion was one of the punishments executed on those deemed proponents of sedition.

Zionists make a concerted effort to dig into Palestine to find a history that could provide evidence that the Jews had been there and had a right to be there still. They are digging for God and country. They have been digging to belong and hue themselves unto the land ever since.

In "Archaeology and National Identity in Israel," Nadia Abu El-Haj posits Israeli archaeologists, professional and amateur, are not merely digging for knowledge and objects, but for the reassurance of roots, which they find in the ancient Israelite remains scattered throughout the country.

The first generation of Israeli archaeologists dug in search of Israelites, an "ethnic group" that presumably entered Palestine in the transition from the late Bronze Age to the early Iron Age. The primary question of archaeological importance after the founding of the state and, in particular, to be answered by the major work and excavations of the 1950s concerned the character of the ancient Israelite conquest of the land of Canaan. It was by that issue that the field would long be dominated by converging disciplines, which supported the holy Zionist folklore.

Left: The archaeological garden of the Tower of David Museum of the History of Jerusalem. Archaeology has proven to be a potent force in Israeli society.

Abu El-Haj goes on to point out that:

The quest for "facts" and the epistemological commitments that underwrote that quest illustrate the dynamic relationship between empiricism and nationalism and demonstrate how a commitment to the former gave credible form to the latter, not just in narrative, but, even more powerfully, in material cast.

Archaeological practice would henceforth involve puzzle solving, which continually extended the empirical basis of research; a practice in which key background assumptions, nationalist and nationalizing, were never questioned.

Wherefore, an ongoing practice of settler nationhood founded in archaeology, one that repeatedly reenacted and reinstantiated the "national collective" in empirical form, facts of positive science would emerge as a dependent evidentiary basis upon which excavation itself would henceforth rely and within which the ancient Israelite nation would materialize as evident.

What is it that makes particular historical eras and specific forms of material culture--in this instance, a distinctive class of pottery--Israelite [or Hebrew]?

The answer I suggest, is the confrontation between artifacts as they relate to indigenous sources and this Israeli "cultural enterprise," this need to attach Europe's Jews to Palestine. Albeit, some of the Jews in Israel can trace their lineage to Palestine nevertheless, a strong component of Israeli Jews cannot. Moreover, these eastern Jews were suspicious of Zionism and only found themselves in its bosom as result of Zionist terrorism, false flag operations and other such propagandist scare tactics. Just as this cultural establishment attempts to validate these new Semites it must necessarily devalue the ancient Palestinians.

The contradictory semitic linkages must eventually, be erased from the holyland. Palestinians are therefore faced with a Zionist movement, a phenomenon, a style, a perspective, a philosophy, an enterprise of Jewish acculturation into Palestine.

It is the “politics” of Israeli archaeology, which purports to disseminate "historical facts" as neutral knowledge that have in fact been socially produced and reflective of the power relations of the holyland within which these historical pronouncements are situated. Our acknowledgment that these power relations exist, and our analyses of their effect upon the contemporary conflict may abrogate some of the maladies this historical engineering affects--peace and justice.

Does archaelogy justify Zionism? Since the foundation of the state of Israel in 1948, Torah and tank have been inseparable, resulting in the forced expulsion and subjugation of millions of indigenous Palestinians. In Nur Masalha's book, "The Bible and Zionism: Invented Traditions, Archaeology and Post-Colonialism in Palestine- Israel," he traces Zionism‘s evolution from a European secular settler movement in the late 19th century to the messianic faith it has become today. Analysing Zionism’s multiple inventions of tradition, he shows how the Bible and Biblical archaeology have been used by many Christian and Jewish Zionists as ‘title deeds‘ for the land of Palestine, justifying an apartheid system and legitimizing war crimes.

An Israeli archaeologist digging at a hilltop south of Jerusalem believes a ceramic shard found in the ruins of an ancient town bears the oldest Hebrew inscription ever discovered, a find that could provide an important glimpse into the culture and language of the Holy Land at the time of the Bible.

The Haaretz goes on to substantiate the attachment of archaeology to Zionism:

Zionism has traditionally seen archaeology as a way of strengthening and explaining the Jewish claim to Israel, and regarded David's kingdom as the glorious ancestor of the new Jewish state. So finding evidence of his rule has importance beyond its interest to scholars.

The dig is partially funded by Foundation Stone, a Jewish educational organization, which hopes to bring volunteers to work there as a way of teaching them a national and historical lesson.

"When I stand here, I understand that I'm on the front lines of the battle between the Israelites and the Philistines," said Rabbi Barnea Levi Selavan, the group's director. "I open my Bible and read about David and Goliath, and I understand that I'm in the Biblical context."

Archaeology, as a social science and as a rhetoric, cannot be an apolitical pastime, even when efforts are made in a monolithic society that is not vying for claim rights. In the same way the past cannot have an independent existence from the present, as there is a kind of “‘infinite sequence of rememorizations’ of bricolage and debricolage” (Chapman et al 1989:6) All these archeological findings which are regularly celebrated by Zionists are like bricks upon bricks in building the house of Israel anew.

Archaeology is the instrument for building national identity, and it grants the right to claim territory," once noted Prof. Ze'ev Herzog, of Tel Aviv University. If most of the Jews were never in Israel and are mostly actual descendants of a people in eastern Europe who converted to Judaism circa the twelfth century then the aphorism absence of evidence may become evidence of existence must march on unassailable with incorrect and biased scholarship -- at the behest of armaments if necessary.

Herzog summarizes the paucity of integrity in the myth making industry that Zionism embodies in an article in the magazine of the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz, titled Deconstructing the Walls of Jericho," (Ha'aretz Magazine, 29 October 1999: 6-8). In the article, Herzog described how what he calls the "crisis stage" in Israeli archaeology has malignantly, matured. He coined it as nothing less than a scientific revolution [devolution]. It is a process well known to all research scientists familiar with the dynamic of scientific break­through:

“A crisis stage is reached when the theories within the framework of the general thesis are unable to solve an increasingly large number of anomalies. The explanations become ponderous and inelegant, and the pieces do not lock together...

“This is what archaeologists have learned from their excavations in the Land of Israel: the Israelites were never in Egypt, did not wander the desert, did not conquer the land in a military campaign and did not pass it on to the 12 tribes of Israel. Perhaps even harder to swallow is the fact that the united monarchy of David &: Solomon described by the Bible as a regional power, was at most a small tribal kingdom... (Ha'aretz, 29 October, 1999)”

Consequently, even if the ancestors of these people walked the sands of what is now Israel, the myths of Zionism would still be false. Point of the matter is, we must not overlook that despite the fact that the myths are false the state of Israel remains and rests on a certain and verifiable fortress of unparalleled military power in the region. The munitions therefore, make European Jews semites and invoke into reality their insistence of existence in Palestine thousands of years before the Palestinians ever existed.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

BRITAIN’S white “underclass” should be given first pick of jobs to stop race riots on our streets.

Well now, since this is a well known tabloid, which features steamy babes for its reading public to salivate over and not much material for contemplation, then one may construe the picture and headline as a unit are intimating to the unfair nature and disproportionate number of fellatio received by the non white population in Britain. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words. Few of the readers of the Daily Star will ever get through the first paragraph on the byline. After all, a steamy babe with inviting boobs coupled with the idea of jobs in the context of a cheap skin tabloid may evince such acts of pleasure.

But in all seriousness, the article glosses over the fullness of the dependent quote:

She [The senior Minister of Equalities And Human Rights Commission, Harriet Harman] said she wanted to make sure more women and ethnic minorities got top jobs even if others were as qualified.

Reform and civil rights has more to do with the rise of white women, which is concomitant to the elevation of white families in general. However, only the benefits reaped by minorities are considered in formulating these types of short sighted views.

The "piece" continues:

But Sir Trevor, 54, warned that the plan would drive millions of voters into the arms of far-right parties like the BNP, which experts said would split the country.

This assessment is patently false precisely, because it doesn't account for the white women who have benefited from the these programs and who may be willing to vote for the party, which instituted the programs.

The rumblings continue:

“And in some parts of the country, it is clear that what defines disadvantage won’t be black or brown, it will be white. And we will have to take positive action to help some white groups, what we might call the white underclass.”

One would hope that the so-called white underclass of Britain is sophisticated enough to realize that those with the power to allocate the funds of the people do not care about race -- they merely, use race to solidify their hold on power.

FOREGOING FEARS: WHY SOME AMERICANSBELIEVE BLACKS WILL RIOT IF OBAMAWINS OR LOSES

From the hub of the South we find an example of forums that concern themselves with topics such as: "Will blacks riot if Obama not elected?" Some have suggested that "blacks" may riot if Obama is elected or loses the elections and that the nation is in danger of reliving the internecine conflict of the civil war - even though, they misconstrue the socio-economic sources of that conflict. Although, Mr. Obama does not describe himself as an afro-centric figure bent on some messianic mission attached to black concerns about civil rights nevertheless, his ascendancy has set an atmosphere of fear and trepidation among some Americans - the economic crisis has augmented the elusive sources of these fears. To this fearful sector of America, senator Obama personifies rebelious anti-establishment historical figures such as, Gabriel Prosser, Denmark Vesey, Nat Turner and Toussaint L'Ouverture -- even Martin Luther King notwithstanding the nonviolent nature of his agitation.

Neither Prosser's nor Vesey's rebellions against the plantocracy actually succeeded; despite the atmosphere of fear they instilled. Nevertheless, European-Americans believed that, in the end, God had protected them. This would all change however, when a man that slaves simply called Prophet, Nat Turner, led a short revolt in which God did not protect slaveowners and their parasitic institution.

On the appointed night, a Sunday, the nine would-be revolutionaries left Turner's slavehouse and entered the residence of his master where, with only one hatchet and one broadax between them, they executed all the members, including two teens, with the exception of an infant. They then moved from house to house throughout the night and executed every European-American they could find with the exception of a white family that owned no slaves. Will, one of the revolutionaries, chopped up his master and his wife so passionately that Turner called him "Will the Executioner." As they went from house to house they gathered slaves and weapons.

Very few, if any, African-Americans accepted their status as slaves. Most, if not all, slaveowneres were completely aware of this and, in general, they lived in fear of the African-Americans under their constabulary control. Not only did slaveowners expect slaves to run away, letters and diaries give strong evidence that slaveowners (and even non- slaveowners) in the south believed that rebellion was imminent. They had lived with the realization of this fear since 1792 when the Haitian Revolution proved unambiguously that slaves were ready to revolt and could do so with a passion that was awe-inspiring. Added to this mix was the fiery rhetoric of abolitionists, both black and white. The most frightening, to the slaveowners, of these abolitionists was Henry Highland Garnet who had escaped from slavery at the age of ten. In 1843 he called for a slave strike and suggested that it escalate to a slave revolt. By this point, the south had been rocked by three slave revolts, which struck fear to the very hearts of the south's elite. (From: The African Diaspora, By Richard Hooker and Washington State University)

Left:General Dominique Toussaint L'Ouverture served as general in the Armies of the British, French and Spanish who would later use his military skills to help forge a nation in a 13 year war against all 3 empires to abolish slavery.

In August 1791, a massive slave uprising erupted in the French colony Saint- Domingue, now known as Haiti. The colony shares the island of Hispanolia (little Spain) with what is today the Dominican Republic. The culmination of this revolution saw the entire island freed from the yoke of slavery and come under the dominion of its former slaves. The revolution's site was one of the very first stops (second) of Columbus in his trek in the Americas. The epic occurrence in Hispaniola, is the one example in history where slaves sacked their masters and established sovereignty.

The rebellion was ignited by a Vodou service organized by Boukman, a Vodou houngan (High Priest - banished by the British in Jamaica and sold to the French in Saint Domingue because he had been a troublemaker). Historians stamp this revolt as the most celebrated event that launched the 13-year revolution, which terminated in the independence of Haiti in 1804.

This revolution only 90 miles from Florida became the quintessential calamitous event in the psyche of not only the oppressors in America, but also had repurcussions throughout the slave owning empires. Forthwith, the island was endowed with pariah status and an economic blockade was instituted by all the slave owning powers of europe and the United States against the new black republic -- even south American nations where slavery slithered took similar steps.

Left: In the aftermath of a revolution that saw excesses committed by both sides the victorious slave army exacted a sharp brand of justice.

The success of those brave men and women 90 miles away from these shores helped to realize the long felt and fermenting fears of black revenge in America. Instead of their human chattel being lynched it was now europeans who met the noose of the black hangman.

The rulers of America therefore, always slept with revolvers near their pillows. Slavery is now long gone in its stark and most obvious form be as it may, psychological and social vestiges of the institution never completely removed themselves from the culture of the United States, especially, but not limited to the southernmost and frontier regions of the country. The arduous work Martin Luther King and other components, both white and black, of the civil rights movement have propelled blacks far from the shackles of slavery.

In 2008 we find America a place where a legal fortress has been erected in order to guard against some of these lingering aspects of the old order and where exists many successful blacks. Yet, it is naive to think that mere laws will negate fundamental attitudes that were prevalent in the nascent stages of a developing tradition, which continue to be instilled -- such attempts to legislate the likes and dislikes of a people have proven cumbersome, (legal deliberation and other such contractual obligations) but have failed to eradicate these personal and social dispositions.

These reticent racial emotions, conventions and tendencies, which are subliminally experienced and expressed to a great extent -- such edifices become part and parcel of the very institutions raised to combat them, e.g., the legal system and the educational system -- in a social dynamic not readily apparent. Systemic discrimation at an institutional level can rarely be pointed to precisely, because their effects run across society and are embeded stealthily in routine aspects of discourse -- i.e., the machinations of privilege are difficult to ascertain on an idividual basis. Only a societal examination may assess some of the ramifications of class, gender and racial bias - there will exist cases of great success as Obama embodies.

African Americans are not the only subgroup who has met this sort of gradation and degradation in America. The Irish, Jews and currently the Muslim people have all been effected to some degree. For example president Kenedy met the ire of many Americans because he was Catholic; similarly, "no jews" signs were once not infrequent in many urban enclaves in the nation -- yes, difficult to imagine in light of the immense success of Jews today.

Yet still, among all these subsets of Americans, the African American may have suffered the most precisely, because it is difficult to assimilate one's skin color. All the other groups have been able to merge within society since at a cursory view they look like the dominant class -- taking into account that there are black muslims and Jews. Blacks have a difficult time overcoming this descriptive aspect of their humanity - even if they go to extremes like Michael Jackson and attempt to chemically lighten their skin. (Although, some blacks try to "pass" as white if they are light enough and have straight hair and can be seen as white at first sight - however, most cannot.)

On his Fox News radio show, March 20,2008, Tom Sullivan predicted that African-Americans would be rioting in the streets similar to what happened after the O.J. trial in the 1990s.

"Let me put it to you a different way. What if Barack Obama is not -- does not win the Democratic nomination, or he does win it, and loses in the presidential race against John McCain? Is black America going to throw their hands up and say, 'Man, you know, I thought we were getting somewhere in this country, but this is just a bunch of racial bigots in this country and they still hate blacks and, I mean, if Barack Obama can't get elected, then we're never gonna have anybody that's a black that's gonna be elected president.' And will there be riots in the streets? I think the answer to that is yes and yes." Sullivan has also compared Obama to Hitler in the past and assessing that that they both had similar speech patterns.

Left: Total Shift: Supporters listen to Obama at a town-hall event in McKeesport, Pa. (Matthew Cavanaugh / EPA-Corbis) The kinetic horde that will destroy America if Obama wins or loses I suppose.

Certanly, some of this fear emanates from the fringes of American society however, some of the same sentiments have been expressed in the mainstream. Newsweek carried an article titled "What If Obama Loses? African-Americans thought he had no chance—then they started to believe. Now they fear defeat," in which is stated:

In the African-American community, the thinking on Obama's candidacy has gone something like this: In the beginning, there was disbelief that a black man could become president. Then, when Obama became the Democratic nominee and soared in the polls, listeners were concerned for his safety. Now that the race with John McCain is as tight as Sarah Palin's smile, Baisden's audience has started to worry about Election Day itself. There is still a fair amount of optimism in the black community, but it's being tempered by two words: what if. What if Obama loses? How should people respond? What should they feel? It's a common election-season concern, but it's all the more acute in the African-American community, where more people are paying attention to the campaign—and planning to vote—than ever. Managing expectations and reactions has become Topic A in many black homes and on blogs such as Bossip, Stereohyped and Angry Black Male. "People that I know that have never cared about politics are registering to vote this time: gang members, ex-cons, you name it," says rapper Snoop Dogg. "I hate to see a lot of that hope go down the drain, and if he loses, it will."

What will happen? The piece continues and does not disappoint by recounting this piece of perception management - the picture above of course sets the scene for the reader to imagine the coming disaster:

There's not a lot of anger—yet—but you can start to sense the potential for it. "I'm going to be mad, real mad, if he doesn't win," says Daetwon Fisher, 21, a construction worker from Long Beach, Calif. "Because for him to come this far and lose will be just shady and a slap in black people's faces. I know there is already talk about protests and stuff if he loses, and I'm down for that." Baisden hears a lot of that incipient resentment on his show, but he tries to soothe people rather than incite them. "Look, if he loses we have no one to blame but ourselves because that meant we all didn't go out and vote in the numbers we should have," says Baisden. "Yes, people will be upset, but it will be in a productive way. There will be a rational reaction if things are fair."

Well, for every rational reaction there must be an equal and opposite irrational commotion, no? Racism is dynamic and can exist in the most benign person, even if they dedicate themselves to overthrow the regime of bigotry -- and can become a function of either race. These skewed preferences are experienced at a human heuristic level and may not be conscious to the person. These attitudes are a shared social phenomenon and should not be posited totally to the individual -- to some extent each camp feeds the other's fears, i.e., unwitting action and reaction act to perpetuate and reinforce the system. They after all, are only a product of their society.

Will blacks riot whether Obama wins or loses cannot be forecasted with accuracy however, the question can be scrupulously, pinpointed within the culture of America -- for better or worse, this is where we are at in our social development. We as Americans need to accept this fact and forge the future together - it is an inclusive journey, which must involve both blacks and whites.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Obama? Kinda Like When Babe Ruth's Record Was Broken By Hank Aaron

Left: Hank Aaron, a sports legend and member of the Hall of Fame who not only set baseballs all-time home-run record, but tore down racial barriers in the process. He played the game with extraordinary grace and skill despite encountering woefully, chilling discrimination, and he blazed a trail to baseballs front office for other African Americans. A staunch civil rights advocate and a champion of underprivileged children, Hank Aaron has shown us the thrill of victory and the importance of giving every American an equal opportunity to strive for it.

KINDA LIKE WHEN BABE RUTH'S RECORD WAS BROKEN BY HANK AARON

The bitter villification the blind hatred, the death depth threats and the nightmares Hank Aaron sirens caused good decent Americans, who just had to hate so innate reason, this is treason just in the air, like reflex redux duck sun Son them rebels knew a thing or two 3 strikesHow dare he that niggard, knee grow Huff puff I'll blow knee jerk smirk 715, seven filth teen rapist polygamist anti christ, devil incarnate Brother of all evil Loin of darkness set alight black like night yes greatest ever dread dread bled nigger instead better dead

BARACK OBAMA IS JUST ANOTHER EXAMPLE

Left: In addition to being baseball's all-time home run king, Hank Aaron is the major league career leader in extra-base hits (1,477), RBIs (2,297) and total bases (6,856). He's tied with Babe Ruth for second in runs scored (2,174) and is third in hits (3,771).Can you really love? Can you be loved? Can you?

Monday, October 27, 2008

Murmurs & Rumblings in Israeli Politics -- Rumors of Moderation: The Right, Left & Center, A Narrative Of Peace?

MURMURS OF ISRAELI ELECTIONS -- RUMORS OF MODERATION:

THE RIGHT, CENTER & LEFT A NARRATIVE OF PEACE?

The global fiscal melee gripping national and international economies has blunted the luster of the right and set conservatism on a defensive trajectory around the world. This emergent and precarious politico-economic realm has seen Binyamin Netanyahu waver in his right-wing principles to assert more popular views expressed in legislation and public utterances. Yet still his popularity continues to wane while Tzipi Livni becomes more attractive to the Israeli public.

Left: Likud's ultra-hawkish Binyamin Netanyahu, a close ally of Pentagon Defense Policy Board architect of the Iraq war Richard Perle, wants to attack Iran in yet another intensely reckless move in the Middle East. He is also a champion of retaining all the lands Israel has amassed through war.

Member of the Knesset (MK), Binyamin Netanyahu has been identified, both internally and internationally, as being the beacon of the Israel right and perennial leader of the Likud (Consolidation) party. Netanyahu rose through the ranks of his party on a platform of drastic cuts to the bloated and inefficient national budget. It was the cuts he made in the to the public sector as well as his bannner stance on the Palestinian "problem" and the occupied terroritories that solidified his success. On these austere tenets he built a superior political career, and rightly so.

Until now, that is. When Netanyahu is prompted about the possibility of enlarging the budget he responds he would not dismiss the idea out of hand, and that all the options are open. The "new" Netanyahuis espousing a different rhetoric and acting in an altered manner. During the course of 2008, with the prospects of early elections in the air, Netanyahu has raised his hand in the Knesset in favor of a long series of populist laws, the ramification of which have enlarged the Israeli national budget.

Recently, Netanyahu has said that a safety net should be spread for the public's savings in provident funds and pension funds. In this, too, he has joined a long line of politicians who have made the same demand: Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Histadrut labor federation chairman Ofer Eini, and Meretz MKs Haim Oron and Zahava Gal-On. Is he trying to bypass and outflank the left - pouncing on the popular issues of the day?

Netanyahu commented that a state needs to ensure its citizens' pensions, and that his intention is to spread a safety net, which doesn't promise the profits of the past but only a low gain for the future.

Israel's right was galvanized by the Six Day War of 1967, in which Israel took the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan, the Gaza Strip and the Sinai from Egypt, and the Golan Heights from Syria. Since then, the Israeli right has been composed of two major segments: the secular nationalist right, embodied in the Likud party, and the radical right, spearheaded by settlers of the occupied territories. Binyamin Netanyahu will not vacillate from these core foreign policy doctrines of the Likud - and has shown no tendency to reform these rigid views.

If Netanyahu intends to become a "new" politician, who hands out budgets and tells the public everything it wants to hear, this may deplete his popularity in the end. His reputation and public favor is rooted in policies from the other direction -- as someone who extolled the most stringent national and international program -- a politician who was unafraid to say these difficult things straight out - and also implement them. The public may not be duped by this sudden transformation - this apparent Netanyahu "Damascus moment" in their political calculations during the coming elections. Furthermore, Netanyahu's platform fails to intersect the Israeli public's aspirations to a lasting peace.

The Israeli voters may ultimately, realize that someone who personified a restrained budget and an iron fist facing Israel's borders to suddenly be dragged into populist legislation and who foregos important aspects of that identity must in fact be a fraud. The public may understand that budgetary policy of the past exalted by Netanyahu is responsible for what is now submerging the economy deep into the ocean of the financial hurricane that the world is experiencing.

Netanyahu's two-faced image may be exposed. He keeps claiming that his actions brought prosperity to Israel, but he is the one responsible for the upcoming economic crisis, the death blow to the disappearing middle class, the harm to retirees and the ruin of the higher education system.

Netanyahu's defense posture also drained the public coffers concomitantly, availing fewer resources toward social programs. The public does not need a "new" Netanyahu whose positions steadily move leftward, when Israel already has a long standing left. Although the left, which is embodied by the Labor party is not in a position to contest the elections, it remains a viable factor in the formation of any new government. The left has posited its tent in the Kadima camp for now. It would be a welcome phenomenon if Netanyahu indeed underwent a transformation, which saw a poised arbitration of his strict policies; unfortunately, these adjustments may merely be urgent conveniences to meet a heated political contest.

Nevertheless, Netanyahu represents the old politics - which has lost its hold on the majority of the voting public. Netanyahu plans to join forces with Shas and their seeming extortion politics that the nation has recently witnessed doesn't score him many points toward obtaining a Knesset mandate. Netanyahu's calculating promises to Shas that it will be the first party he will work with to forge a future government will harm his chances in the elections. In a diverse political environment this sort of promises may appeal to Shas's voters but not faltering Kadima and Labor voters who are seeking a broader perspective.

The right continues to be convinced that Israel has put itself in mortal peril by accepting the legitimacy of the Palestine Liberation Organization and agreeing to Palestinian self-rule in the occupied Gaza Strip and West Bank. But it has yet to figure out how to respond effectively to a dramatic new current in Israel, which ix showing signs of exasperation with never ending wars and its attenuated high costs - both in financial and fleshy outlay - which caught it unawares and underline how out of touch Likud remains with the currents of prevailing Israeli attitude on these vital issues.

In Israel, the words "right" and "left" have less to do with economic or social policies as it does here in the United States. Although, fiscal policy plays important roles in the posture of their respective quarters. There, the marked issue, which divides the two spheres, is whether territories captured in the 1967 war can be given up in the name of peace with the Arabs. And while definitions are imprecise, Israeli leftists generally favor concessions and rightists say no, whether out of security concerns or religious convictions that G-d promised those lands to the Jewish people. The more rightward one moves -- from Likud to small but important parties such as Shas and Tsomet, the National Religious Party and Moledet -- the more hawkish views tend to be.

Israel is set for early general elections after the prime minister designate, Tzipi Livni, failed to broker a deal with the religious right and form a new coalition government.

Livni, who replaced Ehud Olmert as leader of the dominant "centrist" Kadima (Forward) party last month, urged Israel's president, Shimon Peres, to call a new poll.

"I'm sick of this extortion. We'll see all these heroes in 90 days," Livni is quoted as telling her advisers after refusing to yield to the demands of the religious right. (It has been reported that Shas asked for increased state funding of Orthodox families who have had to enter the labor market in recent times in order to make up for rescinded entitlements. Shas was also demanding Jerusalem in-tact, and the enlargement of settlements.)

During a televised interview held between minister Livni and president Peres at the Presidential Residence in Jerusalem, Livni attempted to persuade Peres to refrain from holding another round of talks prior to announcing the elections.

Following her interview with the president Livni gave a short public speech. "I was prepared to pay a price for the formation of a new government, but up until the last minute I was not prepared to risk Israel's financial and political future," she said, hinting at Shas' demands, which Kadima claims were excessive.

She added, "I made the decision to cooperate with certain partners because I believe that compromise is necessary in such a polarized country. I decided to grant needy families financial assistance because I believe the government is responsible for supplying social needs when they are not narrow, sectarian needs."

"I believe a prime minister is chosen first and foremost in order to promote the interests of the state, and anyone who is willing to auction off his ideals for a seat is not worthy of sitting in it," she concluded.

Just as the right has been riddled with apertures in the US, so has the Likud party in Israel been affected with approval fissures. Likud is enjoying less favor from the Jewish state's public. Israeli polls show Livni edging out rivals in elections. Israel's ruling Kadima party will narrowly edge out its main rival in elections likely to be held early next year, polls in two Israeli dailies found today, October, 27, 2008, a day after Kadima leader Tzipi Livni recommended President Shimon Peres call for an early poll.

The Labor Party, headed by another former prime minister, Ehud Barak, would win only 11 seats, while the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, whose refusal to join a Livni-led coalition precipitated the current political impasse, would win 8 seats. The poll had an error margin of 4.5 percent.

Another poll, in the Ma'ariv daily, gives Kadima 31 seats, compared to 29 for the Likud, 11 for the Labour Party, 11 for the ultra-nationalist Yisrael Beteinu party, and 8 for Shas. The poll had an error margin of 2 percent.

Kadima currently has 29 seats in the Knesset, the Likud 12, the Labour Party 19, and Shas 12.

Left: The logo of the Israeli political party, Kadima (Forward)The Kadima Platform pledges in order to maintain a Jewish majority, part of the "Land of Israel" must be given up to maintain a Jewish and democratic state - the so-called disengagement plan. While the Likud platform has called for the continued control of these territories.

The eonomic portion of Kadima's platform pointed to 3 major problems the party sought to attack: the standard of living is continuously dropping compared to other developed countries; the poverty rates are increasing; and the extent of inequality is on the rise.

Kadima has the intention to continue advocating financial growth, while at the same time maintaining an environment that will enable the poor to exit the cycle of poverty. The Kadima party saw a link between unemployment and the educational level of the population and aimed to propose policy that would enlarge educational opportunity. The Kadima party envisioned a comprehensive scheme to address growth in the private sector that include a systemic solution for encouraging people to work and employers expand their business. The plan was to implement a negative income tax, tax benefits, covering university tuition, imposing a dramatic decrease in the number of foreign workers and an increase in the number of Israelis in the job market.

Likud upholds: The Jewish communities in Judea, Samaria and Gaza are the realization of Zionist values. Settlement of the land is a clear expression of the unassailable right of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel and constitutes an important asset in the defense of the vital interests of the State of Israel. The Likud will continue to strengthen and develop these communities and will prevent their uprooting.

I hope and pray that today there is an understanding that instead of fighting, the right thing to do is to build a shared future in two separate states: one - the State of Israel, which was established as a Jewish state, a national home for the Jewish people; and the other - Palestine - which will be established to give a full and complete solution to Palestinians wherever they may be. Those who are in Gaza and the West Bank, and those in the refugee camps in other Arab countries with temporary status, waiting for a sense of belonging to a national state - the same feeling of wholeness that the establishment of the State of Israel gave to the Jewish refugees who were forced to leave Arab countries and Europe and became partners in building Israel.

I believe that the solution of two nation states serves the interests of both sides. Not every celebration of ours is cause for sorrow on the other side, and vice versa. I say to my Palestinian colleagues: Do not bemoan the establishment of the State of Israel; establish your own state, rejoice in its establishment and we will rejoice with you, since for us the establishment of the Palestinian state is not our Nakba, or disaster - provided that upon its establishment the word “Nakba” be deleted from the Arabic lexicon in referring to Israel.

Knowing that the conflict has a solution is not enough. Reaching the solution depends first of all upon us - on the two sides themselves and their ability to conduct negotiations, to touch on the most sensitive points and to provide answers based on the understanding that neither side can obtain everything it wants and that compromises are necessary on both sides.

Left: The Logo of the Israeli party, Likud (Consolidation)

Even though, most of the members of Kadima were Likud associates (members of other parties in the Knesset also joined Sharon) before Sharon brought them along in order to carve his unilateral peace on the Palestinians still, Kadima has since emerged with its own unique centrist and moderate viewpoint in the public psyche. Many of the recent internal events in Israel have strengthened Livni's image and endeared her in the eyes of the voters who are wavering between Livni and Netanyahu. Her refusal to be hoodwinked by Shas has shown her to be a strong leader who stands on principle rather than political expediency. Her replacement of Ehud Olmert, who was mired in scandal coupled with her lack of political opprobrium establishes a public persona of change and new direction in good governance. Although, the peace process seems to be deadlocked, she was one of its principal architects and she has strong international relations' credentials since she served as foreign minister under Olmert.

Why should we care about the machinations of Israeli elections? We should concern ourselves with Israeli politics since the victor among the major parties will formulate the peace issues. Moreover, Israel enjoys US legal protection, military aid and financial support therefore, occurrences in Israel directly effects the disbursment of tax-payer funds in the United States. Furthermore, an unstable and belligerent Israel may drag us into expensive and unpopular wars that have no specific linkages to our national interests.

Hopefully, the winner of the Israeli elections will introduce a peace regime that will be distinguishable in important facets from those supported by its predecessors. Still, international observers must continue to wonder whether the course taken by the new Israeli administration will take on a new impetus that shows a fervent propensity toward peace. Will the new Issraeli government be one that continues the subterfuge of eternal peace talks while it endorses and promotes enlarging settlements or, will it be one that finally, expresses the sentiment of the majority of Israelis and solidifies prospects for a final peace by submitting to international law and relinquish the occupied lands in the name of peace? In Israel's past, the people have gone along with the flow the governments spring, And if the water seems benign and the government shows its approval and sanctions the policy, the public usually, resigns itself and says it's all right, and drinks from the well - they say, Amen.

In other news from Zion, ultra-nationalist Jewish settlers again clashed with Israeli soldiers and police on the weekend after the government ordered the demolition of an illegal outpost. Settlers from Kiryat Arba, a settlement near the Palestinian city of Hebron also rampaged through a Palestinian village, smashing windows and vandalizing graves. Elsewhere, settlers continue to assail Palestinian farmers as they attempt to harvest their olive groves. Defense minister, Ehud Barak, the minister responsible for the Israel Defense Forces, which has sovereign jurisdiction in the occupied territories, gave an interview with Army Radio on Monday, October 27, 2008, condemning the harassment of the harvesters, and said the army was deploying with "supreme effort" to allow the harvest to take place.

Nonetheless, the defense minister hid behind the dubious excuse that "there are hundreds of sites, and it's impossible to be everywhere at once." It would be interesting to see how Barak would react to such an excuse if it were given by Palestinians discussing possible harm to settlers or IDF soldiers. In the same interview, Barak said the Palestinian leadership is incapable of making the decisions necessary to reach a final-status agreement.

Instead of vilifying the Palestinian decision-making ability, it would have been better if the politician tapped to become the senior-most deputy prime minister were to make a decision to enforce law and order in his jurisdiction and allocate the resources necessary to do so. The Israel Police and Shin Bet security service also should not tolerate settlers' shameful attacks on olive harvesters.

We continue to put our trust in good will, justice and the rule of law unfortunately, the attitude of defense minister Ehud Barak is all too common among the political elite of Israel - no matter their political affiliation. But we can continue to hope for a change and prompt them in the "right" direction.

Friday, October 24, 2008

SURPRISE: NO OCTOBER SURPRISE

U.S. District Judge R. Barclay Surrick had denied Berg's request for a temporary restraining order on Aug. 22, 2008, but had not ruled on the merits of the suit until yesterday.

Obama and the Democratic National Committee had asked Surrick to dismiss Berg's complaint in a court filing on Sept. 24, 2008.

They said that Berg's claims were "ridiculous" and "patently false," that Berg had "no standing" to challenge the qualifications of a candidate for president because he had not shown the requisite harm to himself. Judge Surrick agreed.

In a 34-page memorandum and opinion, the judge said Berg's allegations of harm were "too vague and too attenuated" to confer standing on him or any other voters.

Surrick ruled that Berg's attempts to use certain laws to gain standing to pursue his claim that Obama was not a natural-born citizen were "frivolous and not worthy of discussion."

The judge also said the harm Berg alleged did "not constitute an injury in fact" and Berg's arguments to the contrary "ventured into the unreasonable."

For example, Berg had claimed that Obama's nomination deprived citizens of voting for Sen. Hillary Clinton in November. (Berg backed Clinton in the primaries.)

Berg could not be reached for comment last night.

The alien/natural-born saga ends however, the litany of other charges hurled at senator Obama may eventually, produce a winner yet. Senator Barack Obama has been able to withstand and stand up to the slander of Republican and attack dogs with more austere political views. Whether it be the socialist charge, the Ayers link, Acorn, fraudulent fund raising, etc., they have all been nullified by Obama's steadfastness. Nevertheless, if all else fails senator Joe Biden is ripe for attack. I suggest a routine rummage through Biden's political closet to pull out a few skeletons, for example the Biden Plagiarism charges of the past.

Left:Senator Joseph Biden and his wife Jill

Joseph R. Biden Jr., a U.S. senator from Delaware, was driven from the nomination battle after delivering, without attribution, passages from a speech by British Labor party leader Neil Kinnock. A barrage of subsidiary revelations by the press also contributed to Biden's withdrawal: a serious plagiarism incident involving Biden during his law school years; the senator's boastful exaggerations of his academic record at a New Hampshire campaign event; and the discovery of other quotations in Biden's speeches pilfered from past Democratic politicians.

Still, these types of wild [man]hunt accounts and recounts are the most entertaining stories in the blogosphere. I am sullen that only a week or so is left in the campaign. I don't have cable and am unable to access FOX-News. Therefore, these fishing expeditions serve as my link to Joe [Budweiser] six-pack and small town America. Please keep up the dilligent work and keep me entertained - thanks in advance for your consideration in this matter. Go get 'em boys!

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

FIVE EASY STEPS TO STOP OBAMA PARANOIA & OBSESSION OVER THE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE

REVERTING OBAMA NIGHTMARES HAUNT YOUR DREAMS & THEY REVERBERATE IN YOUR HEAD - AS YOU COUNT THE BOUNCING ECHOES

For true blue blood Americans like us, following the events that surround the Obama cult movement is like experienciing flashbacks from civil rights sixties protest marches or reliving bad 60s drug trips -- manifesting in tepid, recurring and unwelcome nightmares. Whether it’s Billy Ayers or Bernadine Dohrn, Tom Hayden or Jane Fonda, or any of the other lesser-knowns, 60s leftist radicals and other such anit-American terrorists, they are all lining up behind Obama.

Obama’s young and old army of worshippers think they see someone altogether new; a unique and fresh persona, seemingly, magical and a transformative figure who has been suddenly, transported to this moment in history to help them finally attain the elusive butterfly of truth, justice and equality - their never- realized covenant of the civil rights era. Seethy radicals, a lost generation of youth and the hopeless aging population see their as yet unfulfilled yearnings fulfilled in the utopia of Barack Obama. A well-groomed, glittery, establishment-approved package, someone grandmothers and babies smile with.

Obama is clean-cut. He talks unity, not subversion. He promises equal outcomes without resorting to violence to forge them. He endorses marriage and fidelity for himself and the nation, without condemning other lifestyle choices. He speaks in highbrow English, rather than the tested religious metaphor or the revolutionary slogan. This man is dangerous, no one should have that much power.

Obama’s followers make high-tech videos, blog and write articles and flyers as they mindlessly chant, “Yes, we can.” Instead of making bombs to blow up government buildings, or holding up armored trucks and killing police officers. they register voters. This man is scary.

This trans generational icon seems to have the opportunity to do now with the mere ballot what his predecessors tried and failed to do through violence and the bullet. These people really believe they can finally seal the deal on the real revolution -- with popular democracy as their new weapon. Obama, the Closer, the Messiah is at hand to lead them like the pied piper.

Evidenced by his huge list of supporters and record setting fund raising, Barack Obama has mezmorized the American public. However, true patriots like us understand that his loyalty lay with subversive like the New Black Panthers and Al-Qu'aida like stealth groups right here in our midst.

He is the star of traitors such as the New SDS, the New Winter Soldiers, the New Weather Underground, et al. The radical Left and the unsuspecting people of America have anointed Obama as the One. Every genre of anti-war, anti-capitalist and anti-white group and their new offshoots are flocking around Obama like moths to a flame.

To these rabid revolutionaries, Obama is the Christ incarnate, because he’s probably their last chance to see the old boys network superseded by equity and qualitative social change here on our holy soil.

FIVE EASY STEPS TO STOP OBAMA PARANOIA & OBSESSION OVER THE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE

Step 1:To stop Intrusive, unwelcome and involuntary thoughts, images or unpleasant ideas about Barack Obama that have become obsessions and upsetting or distressing - place head in toilet bowl on the hour and every hour.

Step 2: Clarify the exact moment you saw a picture of senator Obama as clearly as possible and make funny faces. For instance, if you first saw Obama on TV while eating dinner, then make a belching face or a fart face.

If you are able to reframe the intrusive objectification of Obama in your brain into something like "I'd be happy more often if Obama were white," then you need to know what "being black" means to you. Do not attempt to join Klu Klux Klan Websites or buy their memorabilia online - this will only make Obama more prevalent in your mind.

Step 3: Most people are able to dismiss these distressing Obama thoughts within the first hour of treatment: [A] When Obama thoughts co-occur or reoccur, mental patients are encouraged to ignore the unpleasant thoughts and find a copy of American Spectator Magazine and flip through the pages only from back to front. [B] This step is crucial because it helps redirect the fixation from Obama reality back into right wing fringe fantasy - causing dire Obama thoughts to become less frequent and distressing.

Step 4: You will be searching for the exceptions to feeling depressed about Obama even if they are getting few and far between. At the soonest possible moment, after you notice the exception, look for a hot black babe picture on the Internet to get more familiar with the brown skin archetype. If you happen to be gay, just get one of those big black dolls at ToysRus and spray "Jovan Musk" cologne on it, and do your thing. Getting down and doing the auto-nasty while singing that new CocoaTea reggae song: Obama, Obama, Obama, will transform the bad thoughts into sounds and free you from the nagging images of that sexy, smart and powerful black man once and for all.

Step 5: Begin to consciously and deliberately do the things that you have learned that create your desired goal. You can then start to be a human being again. Recognizing that the picture is not all black or bleak is an important step towards feeling empowered to actually meet your goals. Obama doesn't have to rule your life - you can have control again.

Keep in mind that these steps can be implemented for many different types of disorders and can be done on your own or with the help of a therapist.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Edmund Burke, Benign Conservative

(1729-1797)

Edmund Burke, although a conservative (I consider myself off the spectrum in the other direction in an alternate dimension) is probably my favorite author - he is so piercingly clear in his vision and predictions about our world. Many of the dynamics we've witnessed and experienced in the past two centuries were outlined by this great man. He is quite insightful in his treatment of France in his classic and most influential work, "Reflections on the Revolution in France." Mr. Burke correctly, identifies France as the "birthplace" (or at least the locale of their maturation) of the bankers, insurance moguls and other such capitalists, who made their money through the slave trade and its ancillary industries, which enabled this new buoyant class to usurp the aristocracy and the clergy, enslave the former serfs in new economic relations and assume the throne of world leadership. Mr. Burke opines that this new sector bought and will continue to buy supremacy - that nothing is impossible. Although, I do not agree with many of Edmund Burke's motivations for his thesis nevertheless, I recognize the astonishing astuteness of his observations.

I highly, recommend this treatise.

Moreover, there is so much to say about France; for example the country has experienced every form of "ism" known to man. It is as if the nation serves as some sort of laboratory. For all it's worth France was the one place that at least for a few moments saw the people become sovereign - They quickly abolished slavery many decades before anyone else ever thought about it - i.e., before the commercial conditions demanded an end to slavery in its starkest and crudest formulation - as you probably guessed, reactionary forces, this same moneyed class well disguised, quickly overturned their gains and sent them back to the sweat shops.

Senator McCanin's heritage lie in a slave trading and owning 19th-century cotton dynasty in a Teoc, Mississippi plantation, which after slavery progressed to share cropping composed with many of its former slaves - some of whom were children of the slave master.

John McCain has black relatives who are descended from the 120 slaves held by his forebears before the end of the Civil War at Teoc, a Mississippi plantation owned by the family of Republican presidential nominee's great-great-grandfather. (There is some discrepancy in the sources as to the exact number of slaves held by the McCains- some claim 120 slaves while others state 56)

Inquiries put to the McCain campaign in repeated questions about his black relatives, or about his relatives of both races were ultimately dismissed. Pablo Carrillo, a media liaison with the McCain campaign, said the senator was aware of his African-American relatives, but asked the reporter to put his questions into writing, and that someone would get back to him.

After the reporter sent questions in writing, and made repeated follow-up phone calls, neither Sen. McCain nor anyone else from the campaign responded.

Based on information obtained by the South Florida Times, the senator has numerous black and mixed-raced relatives who were born on, or in, the area of the McCain plantation. The mixed races in the family can be traced back to the rural Teoc community of Carroll County, Mississippi, where his family owned slaves who grew cotton.

Sen. John McCain’s great, great grandfather, William Alexander McCain (1812-1863), fought and died as a soldier in the calvary of the Confederacy and owned a 2,000-acre plantation named Waverly in Teoc. The family dealt in the slave trade, and, according to official records, held more than 120 slaves on the family’s plantation. The enslaved Africans were likely used as servants, for labor, and for breeding more slaves. They remained closely entwined with the white family for decades after the Civil War, taking its surname and living close by on land rented from their former owners as sharecroppers.

Left:The McCain family land in Mississippi.

"I didn't know that," McCain said in measured tones wearing a stoic expression during a midday interview, as he looked at the documents before Tuesday night's debate. "I knew they had sharecroppers. I did not know that."

This documentation includes slave schedules from Sept. 8, 1860, which list as the slave owner, "W.A. McCain." The schedules list the McCain family's slaves in the customary manner of the day -- including their age, gender and "color," labelling each either "black" or "mulatto." The slaves ranged in age from 6 months to 60 years.

"I knew we fought in the Civil War," McCain went on. "But no, I had no idea. I guess thinking about it, I guess when you really think about it logically, it shouldn't be a surprise. They had a plantation and they fought in the Civil War so I guess that it makes sense."

However, the black and white McCain families have long acknowledged their shared history at Teoc, a name that applies to both the plantation and the now-sparse community around it. A cousin of the senator still owns 1,500 acres of the original 2,000. Sen. McCain's younger brother, Joe, and other white McCains have attended family reunions organized by the African-American McCains.

Lillie McCain's family is descended from two slaves, named Isom and Lettie, according to interviews and examinations of family documents, county files and U.S. Census Bureau records. They remained closely entwined with the white family for decades after the Civil War, taking its surname and living close by on land rented from their former owners. Lettie McCain's headstone is still visible in an overgrown graveyard for African-Americans not far from the ruins of the last "big house" on the Teoc plantation.

Lillie McCain, 56, another distant cousin of John McCain who is black, said the Republican presidential nominee is trying to hide his past, and refuses to accept the family’s history.

“After hearing him in 2000 claim his family never owned slaves, I sent him an email,” she recalled. “I told him no matter how much he denies it, it will not make it untrue, and he should accept this and embrace it.” She said the senator never responded to her email.

Left:A Mississippi cotton field during.

McCain's remarks may be spurious and might even be excusable - not knowing his roots stem from a slave owning family who traded, bred and had slaves toil in their cotton fields is not a sober pedigree for a national politician in a diverse America - nevertheless, to obscure his inheritance is indefensible. There is a certain level of reasonable racial tension created when the subject of slavery is raised because people, both white and black, continue to focus on the horrendous past regarding slavery instead of the legal intervention undertaken by our society - the eradication of the social vestiges of slavery's legacy would best be served if the latter course was more prevalent in our discourse. The astute comedian, Chris Rock, once stated that "When white people hear a black person talk about slavery, the white person thinks to himself 'I didn't own no slaves'" - which is obviously, true. A certain measure of discomfort is experienced as the person mulls over - however cursory the contemplation may be- the role of slavery and racial segregation in American history - the so-called white man's guilt complex.

Even so, senator McCain probably knew of this sordid history and found it beneficent and politically convenient to conceal it.

Furthermore, the writer Elizabeth Spencer, a cousin to John McCain, recounts the family's slave legacy in her family memoirs, "Landscapes of the Heart."

Early in Spencer's book, she points to the issue in a passage about her family's history. "All the descendants of slave-holding families I have ever known believe in the benevolence of their forebears as master," she wrote.

A book McCain says he has read, though he cautioned, not closely enough to have caught her references to the family's slaves. Instead of this subterfuge, the senator should have merely asserted that he did not personally, own slaves - that the institution was a sad part of American history and that we, a society have moved on from those dark times and the issue would have been settled with most American voters. Instead McCain chose to both, deny and claim ignorance about his family tree of slaves and slaveowners.

Left:Bill Ayers was on the run from the FBI for 11 years.

If this man cannot acknowledge his links with his slave owning past and African American ancestry, then, is it any wonder that he seems to have no problem participating in race baiting in his bid to be elected president? The McCain campaign has sought to link senator Barack Obama to the Weatherman member William Ayers, who the campaign says was a domestic terrorist - insinuating that senator Obama has a close nexus with radical and terrorist undertakings and is not loyal to the United States. The inference of those McCain assertions attempts to discredit the fidelity of senator Obama to America and evasively tries to tie him with black radicals and other armed agitators, so-called domestic terrorists of the same era, namely, the Black Panthers and other such resistance groups of the period.

What becomes blantantly, clear in this enterprise to associate senator Obama with the Weather Underground and in extension the Black Panther Party is that whether black or white any affront, peaceful, completely legal and mainstream or otherwise, on the conventions of power and tradition will be considered a treachery to America and met with utmost disdain.

Left:Bobby Seale and Huey Newton, founders of the Black Panther Party who advocated self-defense to counter oppression.

Slavery may have officially, ended over a hundred and forty eight years ago in America. Yet still, what is strikingly similar today to antebellum America is our dependence on cheap labor in agriculture and other commercial pursuits.

The emblematic economic relations may have been altered in dramatic aspects for the majority, but structurally we continue to own comparable slaves in this country. We own them collectively as a society - although some benefit more than others in the arrangement. Therefore we bear a certain degree of responsibility collectively for the mistreatment, destitute status and dire working conditions as well as the near non-human status of these "low-grade" workers. We must be intellectually honest and stand firm to accept this social guilt if we are to genuinely rectify the contradiction of our condemnation of the institution of slavery and those actors who benefited from the tradition.

Indeed, we subsidize agribusiness and corporations swelled in slave labor throughout the world and tacitly consent - looking the other way regarding their and our virtual slaves. (illegal Mexicans and other South Americans, Chinese peasants forced into cities to work in the colossal assembly sector, etc.,). Addressing these fundamental inequities in order to bridge these disparities will have a dramatic beneficial impact not just in the US, but globally - justice and equality must hatch a peaceful world. It is a good thing, Do not allow them to comfound the intimacy we share with promises of individual aggrandisement and personal "uniqueness."